Hello everybody, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!

I'm Ryan Drillsma…

And I'm Trevor Tortomasi…

In today's news:

Classes start later, classes in video games, and an actress shares a secret.

All that and more, coming up next.

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高中生晚一點上課

New School Start Time for High School Students

Do you hear that? It's the school bell! Come on… we're going to be late. And our teacher said he's giving us a test this morning.

I think you've remembered that wrong (你記錯了), we don't have to be at school before 10 past 8 anymore!

That's right! Senior high school students (高中生) no longer have to arrive at school before 10 past 8, which is when their first class starts.

It's a new rule that the Ministry of Education announced on March 3rd.

這是教育部3月3日宣布的改變。

As you probably know, many senior high schools would ask students to arrive in class at 7.30 a.m.

This was for homeroom study time (自學)… or to prepare for general assembly (大會).

And sometimes… teachers would give tests (考試) during this time.

A lot of students felt this was too much pressure (壓力), because they had just woken up, and having a test at around 7:30 was too early.

The Ministry of Education now says schools cannot give students tests before their first class at 10 past 8.

Schools can only ask students to come in at 7:30 one time per week to prepare for general assembly.

It comes after there was a lot of "heated discussion" online last year, when people said students don't have enough free time.

去年網路上引發很激烈的論辯，有些人覺得學生休閒時間不夠。

The Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy (社團法人臺灣青年民主協會) said the new rules give students more rest and free time… which allows them to be healthier (身體更健康).

Well, I'm happy I can spend an extra few minutes in bed!

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電動也許有教育的用途

Video Games Now Used as Educational Platforms

Pew pew pew! I love playing video games.

Sometimes it's nice to relax (放鬆) at the end of a long school or work day, and live in a virtual world (虛擬世界) for a bit.

Video games are definitely a popular hobby, and they have long been thought of something we do for leisure (休閒).

But did you know video games can be educational, too?

電動也有教育的用途。

And some schools and universities are even using video games as part of their classes!

One of the most popular video games in the world right now is Minecraft.

And Minecraft was used to host an opening ceremony (開幕) for a university in South Korea (韓國).

It's been difficult for students to attend classes in some places because of the pandemic.

So Yeungnam University decided to open a lecture hall (演講廳) in Minecraft, and the block characters of the teachers welcomed the block characters of the students to the university entirely online!

韓國的一所大學決定利用Minecraft開演講廳歡迎新生。

Minecraft actually has a special educational platform (教育平台) to help with learning.

The game has been used to give students a virtual tour of a school in Manchester, England.

The makers of Minecraft even gave free lessons that kids could use during lockdowns.

Minecraft的製作者曾經辦免費的課程給封城中的學生參加。

Fortnite and Pokemon Go are some other games that offer platforms to help kids learn.

So playing video games can be fun… and educational!

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Courteney Cox shares a secret about "Friends"

(Courteney Cox分享有關六人行的秘密)

Do you know how many episodes of the hit American show "Friends" there are?

If you don't, you don't have to worry because one of its stars, Courteney Cox, who played Monica, doesn't remember how many she filmed (拍攝) either.

During a recent interview (面試) Cox admitted (承認) when she sees all of the episodes on TV, she says she stops, and then says "I don't remember this at all."

當她看到電視上播出，她說完全不記得有演到這些。

Cox says she should have watched all 10 seasons of the show because before doing a reunion (團圓), and she was asked questions, she could only say: "I don't remember being there."

She also confessed (承認) that when she watched the show on television… she watches things she doesn't remember and then says "but it's so funny!"

Just so you know, entertainment magazine Variety says there were 236 episodes all in all.

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So, in today's News Bites:

Senior high school students no longer have to arrive at school before 10 past 8.

The new rule comes after there was a lot of "heated discussion" online last year, when people said students don't have enough free time.

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And,

Some schools and universities are even using video games as part of their classes!

Minecraft actually has a special educational platform to help with learning.

The makers of Minecraft even gave free lessons that kids could use during lockdowns.

________________________________

And,

Courteney Cox, who played Monica in Friends, doesn't remember how many episodes she filmed.

She also confessed that when she watched the show on television… she watches things she doesn't remember and says "but it's so funny!"

Just so you know, entertainment magazine Variety says there were 236 episodes all in all.

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And that's today's episode of News Bites!